Join InsideIIM GOLD
Webinars & Workshops
Compare B-Schools
Free CAT Course
Take Free Mock Tests
Upskill With AltUni
CAT Study Planner
With great power comes great responsibility, and my responsibilities increased when I got promoted to Assistant Manager at Escorts Ltd. The workload was increasing day-by-day for me, so as the aspirations of becoming a future leader and grow more. So, I started with my preparation in June 2019 and tried to give 3 hours daily by studying during office breaks and late nights. I gave CAT 2019; however, it didn’t go well for me, and I scored only 93.29 percentile. Just one week after the CAT exam was IIFT, and this time, it was supposed to be conducted online. I knew I had a bad day, so I didn’t lose any hope. I gave my 100% in those six days, and my hard work turned into a fruitful result and helped me crack one of India’s prestigious b-school, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. I scored an overall 98.84 percentile with 97.01 percentile in Quantitative ability, 98.01 percentile in Verbal Ability, 90.68 percentile in GK, and 69.54 percentile in Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning.
I believe that the opponents need to identify their strengths and weaknesses for every war and then work on their strategy. Without learning about what you are capable of and what you are not, it is a waste of resources and time. I follow what I believe, so I started with my preparation by identifying my areas of weakness and strengths.
My weak area was DILR. So, I made it a point to solve two sets of DILR daily. I took an online test series, as going for regular classes was not feasible along with the job. I solved the study material of TIME and CL, which helped me cover almost all the various concepts that might come in entrances.
I was comfortable with the verbal ability section, so I kept on attempting mocks and analyzed the same to minimize my errors. Apart from that, I practiced the material and read newspapers daily. I went through articles of different themes to get acquainted with different topics and to elicit insights from them. This also helped to identify different writing styles. I read articles from Finshots, newspapers(Indian Express and The Hindu), and Project Syndicate. I used vocabulary apps to build up my vocabulary.
For QA, I started with topic wise tests, which gave me the practice I needed. Also, this helped me in identifying my weak areas and got me started on them. I started with the amateur level and gradually moved up to more difficult levels. This made me more at ease with a larger number of topics and in addition, improved my command over the topics. After this, I went for sectional tests to practice questions in a time-bound manner.
I gave weekly mocks and analyzed them. I solved different mocks available online that helped me in solving a variety of questions. I tried solving questions using tips and tricks available on the internet, which helped me reduce the time I spent per question. This helped me in the exam as I was able to choose which questions should be attempted to maximize my efficiency and the score.
The general knowledge section was not an issue for me as I read newspapers daily, which kept me up to date with current happenings.
I will suggest you give as many mocks as you can. Identify the weak areas and work on them. Also, make a habit of reading newspapers and keep abreast with recent developments globally, especially in business and trade.
All the Best!!!